IN THE PRESS: Kyiv judge comments on criminal case opened against President Leonid Kuchma (10/27/02)

IN THE PRESS

Kyiv judge comments on criminal case opened against President Leonid Kuchma

On October 17, Ukraina Moloda published an interview with Kyiv Court of Appeals Judge Yurii Vasylenko, who opened a criminal case against President Leonid Kuchma accusing him of violating a dozen articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code. The following excerpts were provided by RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report.

Q: What legal consequences may the opening of this case entail?

A: None, of course. I opened the case; they will close it. But I could not fail to open it since there were enough reasons laid down in the motion of [opposition parliamentary] deputies and additional materials for opening [this case].

Q: Is it against the law to close a case without an investigation?

A: Under the law, this is impossible. In other words, appropriate investigative steps must be taken to ascertain if there is evidence for bringing the accusation, or if there is evidence indicating that the accused man is not implicated in the crime.

Q: What are the legal scenarios for concluding this criminal case?

A: Taking into account how justice [in Ukraine] is administered now, there are virtually no such scenarios. In theory, there are four scenarios as a minimum: 1) prosecutors close the case without explanation (a realistic scenario); 2) prosecutors launch a real investigation (a fantastic scenario); 3) prosecutors suspend the pretrial investigation for an indefinite time (a realistic scenario, too); 4) different political forces find a compromise and agreement (but this is not a legal solution).

Q: Do you believe that the case will take the course it has to take, not the course ordered by Kuchma?

A: Do I look like an idiot? Of course I don't believe that.

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